


In Italics

by SeraphOfHeavens (kouyoky)



Series: Wrong One [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Sober Yuuri is not fun Yuuri, Victor is pining so hard, Victor thinks of Eros Yuuri as Yuuri in italics, Yuuri and Victor are both idiots when it comes to relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:52:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10078415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kouyoky/pseuds/SeraphOfHeavens
Summary: My name is Victor Nikiforov, Living Legend of the ice skating world. I’m 28 years old this year, and for the first time in my life, I’ve found someone I love. I fell in love with Yuuri Katsuki at the Sochi banquet, followed Katsuki Yuuri back home to Hasetsu. And is currently engaged to Yuuri. Now I’m just a normal figure skater slash coach.Victor Nikiforov fell in love with the wrong Yuuri Katsuki, and by the time he realized, it was too late.





	1. Rondo of Temptation

**Author's Note:**

> I've finally decided it would be better for me to write the two parts as two stories. It makes much more sense then trying to stick them into one story just because of the thematic similarities. I changed the title and summary for Victor's part. Yuuri's part will be posted under the second story of the series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a test run. I haven't been writing fanfictions for a few years now. And Yuri on Ice really gave me a chance to do that again. So I'm gonna try writing again, starting by third person limited. So this story might be a little boring to all those who've watch the anime for a couple hundred times already. But I really wanted to try and convey what Victor feels during the whole anime, since it's usually told from Yuuri's point of view and we never really get to explore Victor's feelings.
> 
> Okay this chapter is now edited with scenes added and details rewritten.

_Yuuri Katsuki_ was such an enigma. Victor couldn’t say he wasn’t intrigued by him at all, he had bombed his Grand Prix Final in a spectacular fashion. Victor hadn’t believe that it was possible for a person to miss all his jumps. But somehow, this man had managed.

Despite all this, his step sequence was still captivating, almost mesmerizing by how his feet dance to -- no, made the music.

And then at the banquet, _Yuuri Katsuki_ had surprised him again. Proven that he was indeed a Grand Prix Finalist with those moves of his. And then he had the nerve to challenge their Yuri to a dance battle and win!

But above all, it was the blatant request for him to ditch skating and coach him that swept Victor off his feet. Never before had he met such a man so rude, loud and clingy.

Well, there was the Russian Yuri, but he didn’t count.

Victor didn’t believe in love in first sight, he wasn’t so sure after that whole affair.

After the banquet, he was sure that _Yuuri Katsuki_ would call him to make sure he made good on his promise and he had been fully prepared to do so.

But the call had never came, and the man had not appeared in the World Championships.

Stammi Vicino had never felt so lonely and heartbroken as he skated it for his Free Skate. Somewhere deep inside, Victor was hoping that _Yuuri Katsuki_ was watching him and would see the longing in his eyes.

(The memory of _Yuuri Katsuki_ was almost gone from his mind, it was a fleeting dream that Victor wished he had stayed in and never woke up from.)

Victor knew he failed at conveying that particular emotion. His program was still perfect as always, at least in the technical department.

“You were too confident.” Yakov told him gruffly at the Kiss and Cry, “I must admit you did put some thought on your artistic interpretation this time. But every time you geared up for a quad, we could see it. The confidence in your eyes, the confidence that made Victor Nikiforov the champion.”

“Confidence is good Vitya, but this is not where you could show it.”

* * *

 

He stayed cooped up in his apartment for a few days after the Championships ended. St. Petersburg was welcoming as always, there were plenty of it’s citizens ready to welcome their Living Legend back home, and they congratulated him everywhere he went.

Victor was tired of it all. He was a 4 (now 5) times Grand Prix and World’s gold medalist. The praises and adoration had long lost its meaning to him. What did it matter if he took home another gold? They were still one in the many of golds he had brought back. It just didn’t hold the same value to him anymore.

He didn’t go anywhere, not even when Makkachin whined to be let out for walks longer than the entirety of his apartment building. Victor was content to just stay there until Yakov finally decided he was to return to practise again.

Yakov did come by a few days later and drag him off to the skating rink. His coach all but ordering him to come up with new programs.

Nothing particular had piqued his interest this season that he wanted to incorporate into his next season. And the only thing that had been even remotely interesting had not come to the Worlds, and he was a person.

But _Yuuri Katsuk_ i dancing had been such a sight.

Those slender hands that had brushed down his hips teasingly and then encircled his waist. Brown eyes that danced with mischief as _Yuuri Katsuki_ danced in and out of the crowd, laughing as Victor followed him slowly in an attempt to appear dignified.

His program came out slowly but surely, as more and more scene of _Yuuri Katsuki_ dancing appeared in his mind, the program grew more and more fervent as Victor poured his heart and soul into it, in an attempt to recreate _Yuuri Katsuki’s_ image.

He knew what song he had to choose too.

Eros.

“Yuuri!”

Victor was turning before he knew it, mouth poised open to say something anything.

_Why did it take you so long to call_ , he wanted to ask. _Why didn’t you come to the World's._

Blue eyes darted to the front of the skating rink, where anyone who had garnered the attention of his coach was sure to be standing. Victor kept staring at where Yakov was standing, wide eyed. Where was he? Why couldn’t he see him? When had he arrived?

“Yuri! What are you doing staring at Victor? I told you to practise your step sequences didn’t I? You’ll never improve if you keep this attitude up.” Yakov was yelling at one of the younger skaters. Victor scanned over his coach uninterestingly before his eyes rested on the lithe frame staring at him.

Oh, _Yuri_.

Yuri Plisetsky. The Junior gold medalist at the World's. Sometimes, Victor just forgot that he was called Yuri too. These days, the only Yuuri that was on his mind was _Yuuri Katsuki_.

Victor felt a bit dazed, skating across the rink slowly, he approached the edge of the rink.

Concern was evident in Mila and Georgi’s voice, but Victor shook them off. Now was not the time. He needed to get some sleep, _Yuuri Katsuki_ was haunting his normal life too.

He slipped out of the rink while Yakov was still yelling at the young skater, aware that the pair of eyes were burning holes at him.

He got back home and Makkachin pounced on him immediately.

“Hello, Makkachin.” He smiled tiredly, “Sorry that I cooped you up here with me for the entire week. But I’ll make it up to you somehow. I promise.”

“Maybe a vacation somewhere nice.” He mused and turned on his phone. He glanced at it, scrolled it some more and finally looked at the attachments and smiled, “Looks like I’ll be able to fulfil this promise right now Makkachin.”

His poodle barked happily as if understanding what Victor meant. The Russian laughed and ruffled his fur, “I hope you’re ready for a trip to Japan, Makkachin!”

* * *

 

The video was called, ' _Yuuri Katsuki skates to Victor Nikiforov’s FS Programme Stay Close to Me_ ’. And Victor suddenly remembered that the same person who was skating his program was the same boy that he had mistaken as a junior skater at the airport.

He still had trouble associating the _boy_ with _Yuuri Katsuki_ of all people.

But _Yuuri Katsuki_ was the first person that Victor had ever felt attraction to, so he did what he had promised and flew to Japan. Even though it wasn’t a phone call, it would have to suffice as an invitation.

“ _Yuuri Katsuki_. Onsen.” They told him when he arrives at Hasetsu.

Onsen means hot springs. His phone translated that much to him. Right, that was helpful.

Victor never really had much trouble with learning new languages, but Japanese baffled him. What has _Yuuri Katsuki_ got to do with Hot Springs?

Yu-topia Katsuki was the name of the hot springs that the townspeople had been trying to steer him to. But Victor still had trouble fully comprehending what _Yuuri Katsuki_ had to do with the hot springs apart from his name on it.

_Yuuri Katsuki’s_ family owns a hot spring, he realized when he finally enters the hostel. Victor was surprised, he had always imagined that _Yuuri Katsuki_ would own a bar, or the ice rink that he skates in.

_Yuuri Katsuki’s_ parents are different from what he imagines them to be as well. The mother greets him sweetly and offers Victor a dip in the onsen to relax when he announced his name. The father chuckled briefly and told him he was free to stay there for as long as he liked. Victor wondered briefly if _Yuuri Katsuki_ is adopted (he couldn’t have learnt his seduction skills here), because the two proper Japanese couples are astonishingly polite and understanding of his sudden visit.  

Victor was already soaking in the hot springs when he heard the ruckus going on in the main house. He heard a smattering of Japanese and a shout, then the pattering of feet hurrying towards the direction of the bath house. He wondered who that could be, maybe one of the guests?

The door opened, and Victor caught sight of Yuuri Katsuki.

That was the first time he saw Yuuri Katsuki and Victor felt like he was falling in love again. Which just wasn’t possible, seeing as how _Yuuri Katsuki_ was the one who had stolen his heart on the banquet night.

But still, Victor felt his breath leaving him when he met Yuuri’s gaze again.


	2. The Sudden Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the only reason that I can dish out these chapters is because Yuri on Ice is just too short. I mean 12 episodes, I can finish them in 4 hours. And that's what I've been doing daily since the show finished. I don't know if it's a curse or not. On one hand I can rewatch the entire season in a couple hours just to finish my chapter, on the other, Yuuri and Victor's love story is just too short.

_Yuuri Katsuki_ quickly turns into Katsuki Yuuri, as he had been told. Japanese people put their surnames in the front.

Katsuki Yuuri isn't what Victor imagines him to be like. First of all, he is nothing like _Yuuri Katsuki_ , the man who had swept him off his feet during the dance. He is every bit the proper and shy man he portrayed during their airport meeting. Victor wonders how he could have ever thought that Katsuki Yuuri was adopted, he looks and acts every bit like his parents.

Katsuki Yuuri is surprisingly easy to get on with, it's not just because he hasn't said anything about the banquet yet - Victor still fully expects him to drop the bombshell one day. But Katsuki Yuuri is almost timid around him, it's almost startling to see the difference between the two Yuuris he knows, he suppose that's why he had mistaken Katsuki Yuuri as a Junior skater.

He gets embarrassed way too easily, almost too easily that it makes Victor wonder if he's playing hard to get. There is no way that _Yuuri Katsuki_ would blush so easily when he put his hand on his face. There had been more skin contact during the banquet then here.

Katsuki Yuuri takes him out to see Hasetsu (Training, Yuuri says) A date, Victor thinks. He secretly thinks that Yuuri is too careful with his wording. (He could've said they were going to a strip club and Victor would have still gone with him). But he feels slightly put off by the fact that Katsuki Yuuri blushed all shades of red just to extend the invitation.

They end up in the park below the castle. And instead of showing him around like Victor expected him to (Yuuri said he'd show him around Hasetsu), Yuuri just shows him the park and tell him he's free to go round the shops while he trains for a bit. Alone.

Victor nearly pouts.

It was a Tuesday morning, so there were hardly any people walking around. Most of the townspeople milling around were old people and the shopkeepers. It's 9 in the morning, and most of the shops are open even though there are hardly any people around.

"Good morning!" He greeted one of the younger looking owners.

"Victor Nikiforov?" The man clearly recognized him.

"Fan?" He flashed his thousand watt smile, "Picture?"

The guy shakes his head without hesitation, Victor wondered if all Japanese people acted like this. Or was it only the ones he met?

"Katsuki kun need more than me." He pointed to Yuuri who is sitting on the bench, "Fan for a long time."

Victor turned his head back to look at Yuuri. Yuuri...if Yuuri was a fan, he hardly fitted in his definition of one.

Sure, Yuuri did blush a lot around him, and he did look up to him almost reverently. However _Yuuri_ was also the one who had danced with him half naked and asked Victor to be his coach.

How did the guy see Yuuri as a fan, while he - Victor Nikiforov couldn't make head or tails of the same guy?

He thanked the guy for that small tidbit of information, and goes back to Yuuri.

Yuuri was exercising next to one of those trees with pink flowers.

"Cherry blossoms," Yuuri tells him when he asks, "We call them Sakura."

Yuuri didn't seem to mind his intrusion and merely scoots over to allow him a seat on the bench. Victor watched Yuuri swing his legs, up and down, up and down.

The steady rhythm seemed to lull the both of them into a comfortable silence until Victor thinks of something again.

"Do you have feelings for Minako?"

When Victor had first met her, he realized she was pretty and friendly with Yuuri. Almost too friendly.

"What? No!" Yuuri flushed, and Victor narrowed his eyes minutely before his face smoothed over. Had Yuuri been thinking about Minako? He would have to ask him about that later, under the guise of coach and student of course.

"Do you have a lover?"

He had better not have one.

"No."

"Ex-lovers then?"

That was important too, Victor wanted to know who Yuuri had liked before. Why _Yuuri_ had left them and chose him.

"N-no comment."

"Let's talk about me then!" Victor jumped at the opportunity, pleased that he finally got a chance to get Yuuri jealous and make his move, "My first lover was -"

"Stop!"

Victor paused and took a look at Yuuri. Even though his face was beetroot red, his brown eyes were alight with a foreign emotion. Was Yuuri actually serious? Did he really not want to talk about _them_ , but instead focus on skating?

Victor does pouts then, what a killjoy. Yuuri was no fun, Victor can't even hold a proper conversation with him before he starts blushing. Where was all that courage that had prompt him to coach him?

So Victor changes the topic. He had noticed the castle when they first dropped by the Ice Castle. It was a surprise to see this historical monument in the middle of a town like this without any tourists milling around.

He chuckles when Yuuri tells him it's a Ninja House in all seriousness, Yuuri looking like an adorable child is something new to him too.

His train of thoughts stops abruptly when he finally processed what Yuuri said.

"Really? Ninja?"

He lets Yuuri take the picture of himself and Makkachin and post it on instagram, he can't wait until the likes starts pouring in. Ninja houses in Japan! He should've came to Hasetsu earlier if he had known of it before.

Posting the photo probably wasn't a smart move on his part (but he had been really excited) as the Russian Yuri arrives amidst the flurry of reporters and fans that had figured out where his photos had been taken.

The young skater had demanded that he return to Russia. Apparently Victor had promised to choreograph a routine for him if he won the World Championships, and Victor had forgotten all about it.

Which wasn't all that surprising.

Victor knows he is a forgetful man, god knows how many times Yakov and told him that. He could remember few promises that he had made and fewer promises that he had actually kept. The one _Yuuri Katsuki_ had extracted from him was the only one that he remembered and kept on his own violation.

Victor knows that promises are important, he sees that in Yuri Plisetsky's eyes, he can also see it in Yuuri Katsuki's eyes. That's why he can't abandon either one of them just to satisfy the other.

Agape and Eros. His last choreography for his last season. He may not be competing this year, but he still wants to see it on the ice. To see his love for the ice performed by the two rising stars.

Yuri stays here in Utopia Kastuki and Yuuri's sister - Mari so graciously bestows the name Yurio upon the Russian skater, which honestly saves him from the headaches he could potentially get from trying to distinguish the two Yuris from each other.

So Victor agrees to the name Yurio and smiles angelically when the young boy blows up on him, it wasn't as if he had fun seeing him distraught.

Okay, that was a lie. But life was a lot easier now that one of them was called Yuuri, the other Yurio.

Victor Nikiforov is not a vindictive man, if he did say so himself. He didn't give Yuuri Eros and Yurio Agape just so he could laugh at their discomfort (Yuuri had been rejecting him ever since he came here, and Yurio had the nerve to interrupt his and Yuuri's budding relationship). But really, Yuuri should have expected that he would be given Eros, given his sensualized dancing a year ago, and he could hardly give a 15 year old child Eros right?

Still, Victor can't say he hasn't thought that skating to Eros will help in showing Yuuri's own eros. He knows that it's deep inside him, he's just been too shy and conscious to let it through. Victor can't wait until he sees the _Yuuri Katsuki_ again.

"Both of you are my fans right?" Victor tries what he has learnt from the shop owner. The reaction is immediate, Yurio immediately scowls and accepts his challenges.

"If I win, Victor you come back to Russia and be my coach."

Yuuri…

Yuuri stays quiet.

"Yuuri, what do you want if you win?" Victor prompts.

"Katsudon. I want to eat Katsudon with you, Victor."

"Huh?"

"I want to keep on winning and continue eating Katsudon with you. That's why I'll skate to Eros."

 _With you,_ Yuuri said.

Yuuri wants to eat Katsudon with him. Victor's eyes widened and a smile big enough to split his face appeared.

_With him._

"I'll skate with all the Eros I've got!" Yuuri declares and Victor smiles even more when Yuuri's puffed up chest and upturned face does paint him as an adorable piglet.

A magic spell to turn a little piggy into a prince. Victor wishes it was that simple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters might be out next week. I have surprisingly less free time during weekdays despite only taking four classes. And writing these chapters really takes a lot out of me.


	3. Eros and Agape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started to notice a trend in my writing. My first chapter starts off really weak and short and I always have to go back and revise it, but then the following chapters gets to start longer and longer until I have no idea what I just wrote, wow.

Agape, unconditional love. God's unconditional love bestowed upon the small and insignificant humans. Infinite love means sacrificing everything, to give every inch of your body away, your life belongs to everyone but you. Unconditional love drowns you, suffocates you, burdens you, as you cater to the whims of the public. The humans who worship and offer you up to the heavens above, are those who create the image of God, and will be those that destroy it.

Eros, sexual love. Pleasure followed by pleasure. The way two people move across the dance floor on their first dance. And all the surrounding faded away until all that was left was each other. Sweat and champagne dripping off white dress shirts and soaking into feverish skin. The tangling of bodies as alcohol breath pass between each other. And when the dance ends, nothing is left, except an imprint on each others skin, all but fading on the next day.

This is In Regards to Love: Agape and Eros.

_Which one would Yuuri end up bestowing upon him?_

"So what do you think Yuuri?"

_What do you think of the dance that I choreographed in your image?_

Yuuri looked really flustered. Victor noticed bemusedly, perhaps he had amped up the sexual content just a little too much.

"Ah, um... it was very Eros."

"Right?"

Because _Yuuri_ was just that like that. - the Eros that Victor wanted to embody in his skating. He knows _Yuuri_ will be able to skate better than this, the perfect Eros.

"Now, about the quads, which can you land?"

"Well, there's the toe loop. Uh...the salchow during practise but never during competitions."

"Hmm."

That was two quads, but one with a pretty low success rate. It was a shame that Yuuri couldn't do more, that amazing stamina of his had to go somewhere…

Better have Yuuri focus more on his artistic interpretation, he always did do well in that part. Telling a story with his body and enthralling the audience with every single move he made. Quads just weren't what Yuuri was known for after all.

"Okay, why don't you start with the basics and I'll teach Yurio first?"

Yuuri let out a small sound of confusion which Victor took as his questioning for the arrangement.

"I won't teach you anything that you can't do right now, how many times have you messed up a jump because you were too nervous in competitions?"

Yuuri practically deflated at his words. Victor frowned at his action. Yakov always told him in order to win a competition, he had to believe he had already won. Didn't Yuuri's coach ever teach him that?

"You have the skill to win. Why can't you make it happen?"

"That's...that's probably because I lack confidence."

Admitting defeat before a battle. That told Victor a lot about Yuuri, Yuuri lacked the self confidence to win. To believe he can win. However, Victor knew that Yuuri isn't that type of person to just give up easily, he had watched all his videos after all. He knows that at heart, every skater wants to win, and Yuuri is no different.

"Right. You know that, why can't you do better then?"

Victor skated right up to him, and positioned himself right between Yuuri's skates. Blue met brown as Victor stared right into Yuuri's eyes, slowly and gently as if afraid of scaring him away, he positioned his thumb right on his lips, the rest of his hand cupped gently on his chin.

"No one in the world knows your true Eros, it's hidden deep inside you. You just have to find it. Won't you hurry up and find that alluring side of yours and show me?" He whispered softly, watching as Yuuri's eyes widened considerably and thick black lashes flutter.

Show the world the confidence that he showed Victor that night. Show the world _Yuuri's_ Eros that he kept inside, deep deep inside.

Yuuri's lips trembled and for a second Victor was afraid he'd gone too far with the teasing. And then Yurio happened.

"Oi, you guys! Victor, you said you'd teach me first."

"Alright alright." Victor skated backwards easily, Yuuri was still standing there, "Come on up Yurio and we can start."

He turned back to look at Yuuri, noticing the man's face still held a slightest hint of pink, "Yuuri, I want you to think long and hard of what Eros is to you."

As he skated towards Yurio, Victor could hear the sound of Yuuri collapsing on the ice. Well, he'd figure out Eros soon enough.

* * *

"Well, what do you want with that Yuuri Katsuki?" Yurio finally asked during one of his training sessions with Victor.

"What do I want?"

"Don't take me for a fool Victor. You wouldn't come all this way just to coach that pig." The harsh russian slipping from his mouth. "You came because of that day right?"

Victor narrowed his eyes, Yuri was perceptive as always. In a way, he could see himself in the young russian skater. Young and arrogant, however Victor had been much better at hiding his distaste for the other people, still was actually.

"Don't butt your head into other's business Yurio." He replied, dragging his tongue over the young skater's nickname and watched as green eyes flashed and settled under a cool assessing glare.

Lips pressed into a thin line, Yurio stared right back at him, "You realize if he hasn't made a move right now, he probably never will. He had probably been playing around with you all the time."

"Don't you dare-"

"Maybe he lured you here just so he could have a chance at that gold medal now that you've left the podium."

"What do you know about him anyway. It's not like you know exactly who he is."

Yurio did not waver under the heated gaze, "I know him better than you think Victor. I know exactly who he is."

The two Russians continued to stare at each other, neither of them willing to back down. This continued for a minute until Victor broke off, the temperature around them suddenly dropping.

"Maybe we need a temple." He smiled, his heart shaped mouth already firmly in place.

* * *

"Katsudon!"

Victor looked up in surprise, Yuuri was standing up fist clenched tightly into a ball. He glanced quickly at the bowl that was in front of Yurio and back to Yuuri again.

"That's what Eros is to me."

The silence in the room was audible. Victor put down his bowl of Katsudon gingerly in response to the declaration.

"Ah sorry." Yuuri held his head in his hand, face horrified and embarrassed, "It's not…"

"Okay, we'll go with that." Victor tried to laugh off Yuuri's expression, even as he cast a slightly worried look at the other man and then at his katsudon. "It's...a very unique idea."

"Seriously." Yurio muttered under his breath. Yuuri was gone in a flash, yelling about his dignity and whatnot, leaving the two Russians alone in the room. Yurio yawned softly and stretched his arms out, grabbing hold of his chopsticks. "Can't believe Katsudon is the answer to everything."

"How can you still eat that after what he just said." Victor was aghast. "He would rather tell us that his Eros is Katsudon then admit it's himself. That's a serious matter."

"Not to me." The younger skater retorted, wolfing down the rice and pork cutlet, Victor felt slightly ill at his enthusiasm, "It's not me that's still hung up after that night."

Victor set down the chopsticks he had still been holding. "Night." He said, standing up resolutely, "If Yuuri comes back, tell him I'm in bed."

The next few days continued without fail, Victor arranged separate time slots for both Yuris to practise their step sequences. Both of them did improve a lot, especially Yuuri after his declaration of Katsudon as his Eros.

Victor was not happy about it, sure he was glad that Yuuri had managed to find his Eros. But Katsudon? That was not what he meant and he wanted to take back what he said about it being a good idea. The only good idea was partying _Yuuri_. His foul mood continued all afternoon, especially when Yuuri managed to grasp what he was expected to present in Eros. Which was why a ticked off Victor was found in one of the izakaya after a night of stuffing himself with Nagahama Ramen.

Drinking had always been a way for him to let go, and tonight was no different. He ordered one bottle of those Japanese wine. It looked no different than the vodka he had been consuming back in Russia, but Victor doubt that he could get drunk on it anyway. The alcohol percentage was way less than what he was used to.

So he let himself drink without restrictions, downing down one cup after another. Soon the one bottle became two and three. And he had spent a whole night at the izakaya already.

Some of the men that had been with him in the pub were steadily getting drunk and were starting to thin out, although those with a slightly better tolerance still stayed.

The pub was quieter now and it allowed Victor space to think. To process what had happened these past few days. What Yurio had said a couple days back had taken it's place in his mind, and right then, the doubt was festering.

When Yuuri had said he had found his Eros, Victor was so sure that it was _Yuuri_ again. But it wasn't. So what if what Yurio said was true. What if _Yuuri_ was all an act?

He gulped down another glass of the wine and refilled his glass. His patience was wearing thin, if _Yuuri_ didn't appear soon...

"You're Vikutoru san are you not?" One of the more sobered one came up to ask him. "Katsuki san's coach."

Victor lowered his drink, the guy's heavily accented English took a while to understand.

"Yes." He answered curtly, when he finally did and took another sip of his sake. He glanced at the guy, "What do you want."

"Want to thank you for agreeing to teach Katsuki san." He bowed, and Victor set his drink down in surprise, "Whole town want to thank you for doing this for Katsuki san."

"Why?"

"Ahaha." He laughed sheepishly, "Katsuki san is the one who introduced skating to this town you know? Hasetsu used to be a small town only famous for onsens. But with Katsuki san participating in the Grand Prix, it brought life back into our town when the onsen business started to decline. No one here hasn't heard of the name Katsuki Yuuri, and everyone has heard of how he worships you."

"Katsuki san is town's hero. Thank you for giving him your time." He gave another deep bow, "Thank you, Vikutoru san."

He left soon after, leaving Victor to stew over his judgement again.

Victor got back to the Ice Castle at about 9 the next morning. He had spent the last of his daylight in bed thinking about what the man said.

The light scraping of blades caught his ears and Victor paused at the door.

"Again, Katsudon!" He heard Yurio shout and the sound of carbon scraping across ice. Victor closed his eyes, that sound was a salchow, a quad salchow it seemed.

It stopped for a while, and the sound of normal skating blades came up again, this time ending in a loud smack.

Victor opened the door, "Sorry for making you guys wait, what are you practising?"

There was a slightest hint of a pause before the two Yuris skated off in different directions in tandem.

Victor smiled, well at least one good thing came out of his overnight drinking.

* * *

The day Onsen on Ice came, thousands of spectators filled the seats. Reporters from all around the world came too, the most prominent ones being the Japanese and Russian press. They clamoured for both skater's attention, fighting for a chance to speak to the so called students of Victor Nikiforov.

Victor indulged them, smiling and laughing at their questions, but mainly he left the two young ones on their own devices. They had to learn how to smile for the camera.

The rink's chill permeated the air and as the audience yelled their encouragement to their respective competitors, the cold ebbed away slowly, but not completely. The two sides were both battling for the ultimate prize - their supporting skater would be the one who Victor would coach for the next season.

Agape was first. The remaining shouts of 'Davai' filled the air and Yurio was off. Indeed, Yurio did improve a lot after the waterfall training. Victor noted that the only thing remaining of his demonstration was the choreograph. Every inch of sadness or self pitying he had been trying to convey through his skating were wiped away and replaced by Yurio's own take on Agape. In Yurio's performance, Victor could see that emotion that he couldn't name in the young skater's step sequences again. Yet despite all that he had changed and improve, Victor could still tell something was missing. Agape was unconditional love, yet Yurio was trying too hard, his muscles strained under the thin cloth of the white costume. He could discern frustration and disappointment in his eyes.

Black blades scraped the ice harshly as the last spin ended and long slender arms lifted upwards to the heavens as if in prayer.

So Victor smiled at Yurio and yelled, "That was the best performance I've ever seen from you."

Yes, Yuri Plisetsky had come a long way to learn the meaning of Agape and Victor would commend him for that.

Yurio had presented his Agape, and it was now Yuuri's turn. Victor turned away from the bowing Russian skater to check on the other.

"Yuuri." He called softly, and the Japanese skater snapped his head up to face him. Dimly, Victor noticed that Yuuri was staring at him eye to eye, "It's your turn."

Panic, full blown panic was shown in Yuuri's eyes. His hands were covering his mouth and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Victor didn't speak, only smiled reassuringly at Yuuri.

I'll be here with you. Victor wanted to say. But Yuuri spoke first.

"I'll become the tastiest katsudon you've ever seen, so please watch me Victor."

Yuuri held onto him. The audience were shouting out Yuuri's name now, only Victor couldn't hear them over the sound of their hearts. The loud thumping of their hearts as Yuuri pressed tightly to him were deafening.

"I promise."

"Of course, I love katsudon." Maybe all Victor could do to help was here.

The lingering feeling of Yuuri does not leave him as Yuuri stands on the ice. Instead Victor feels hotter than before as he gazed upon _Yuuri_. The faint strums of the guitar had Victor whistling, that searing gaze was fixated on him and Victor couldn't look away. And before he knew it, Yuuri was already launching into his step sequence and sliding across the ice.

The song is beautiful, a mimic of the music that played at the banquet, and Victor saw how Yuuri makes music with his body. He doesn't just skate to Eros, he is Eros. Yuuri skating to his heart's content, assaulted Victor with images of that day again. The final combination spin is almost a homage to the last dance they had.

When _Yuuri_ skates, Victor can see that scene again. The exact moment _Yuuri_ catches his eyes and beckons him forward.

_Won't you dance with me?_

_Yuuri_ was coming his way, sweat dripping off his brow.

Victor held out his arms, and welcomes _Yuuri_ with a smile.

_Of co-_

The illusion faded, and Yuuri was standing in front of Victor again.

Victor took a deep breath and pulled him into a hug.

"Yuuri! That was the tastiest Katsudon I had ever seen!"

Yuuri's body was warm against his own. The mesh of the Eros costume scratched lightly against his skin, but it's a nice itch. It assured Victor that _Yuuri_ was real, he's not just some dream that he dreamt up of to fill his life.

The warmth stayed and Victor felt the chill leaving him under the layers of his scarf and coat. Yuuri stayed by his side all throughout the prize presentation. Victor doesn't think he's seen Yuuri that happy before. He was glowing with joy as he smiled into the camera.

Victor smiled softly, it was just like Yuuri, to win against all odds (with his own power) and still look as if he did not deserve it.

"I'll win the Grand Prix Final with Victor." He announced and Victor realized he had never been more happy to hear the announcement of another skater's season.

Yuuri laughed softly at the reporter's question and Victor laughed with him. Yuuri's laugh was beautiful and not even the constant chattering of the reporters could deter that.

He and Yuuri would be facing the Grand Prix together, and nothing could stop them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might just go back and revise the first chapter.


	4. Yuri On Ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally planned to put episode 4 and 5 as a single chapter and title it Yuri on Ice. Turns out I didn't have enough time, so it's going to have to wait till next week. Still can't believe this is the only fic I've been writing diligently and updating every single week.

Yurio had left for Russia not too long ago. Yuuko had taken him to the airport with her triplets to ensure he wouldn’t be all alone in the foreign airport. That left Victor all alone with Yuuri.

Except that the rink was strangely empty at 8 in the morning. Huh.

“I’m sorry! I overslept!”

Speak of the devil. Yuuri burst through the door not a moment later, his hair dishevelled and jacket hanging awkwardly on his frame. 

“Good morning Yuuri.” He greeted with the brightest smile he could, “Only you and Aeroflot have been able to keep me waiting for that long.”

Yuuri slid into a semi-familiar pose that Victor had once saw in his reading of Japanese culture.

“Oh, Japanese Dogeza” Victor clapped his hands as he stared at Yuuri in interest, did Japanese people really feel the need to kneel in front of everyone every time they did something wrong? Not that Victor was complaining though, it gave him a perfect view of Yuuri’s ass.

This skater’s ass had the NIkiforov seal of approval. Victor could see how many years Yuuri had put into skating to get it as fine as this. Not that he never noticed, he still kept those banquet pictures and they received his full attention every night.

“It’s important for you to get enough sleep. But there’s still a couple of months remaining until the Grand Prix.”

Except for getting up late, Yuuri was the perfect student. He was eager to learn and never turned down a chance to practise. Seeing  _ Yuuri _ perform Eros everyday was like a god himself had descended down on Earth.

Well, almost.

“Yuuri you always trip up and fall when you’re thinking of something.”

* * *

 

“Yuuri, maybe you should give up having three quads for your Free Program?” 

“Huh?” Yuuri murmured, turning to face him. Brown eyes widened considerably before a flushed face turned quickly away from him. Victor merely raised an eyebrow and continued stretching. Yuuri hadn’t been so shy when he had asked him to take a picture of him in the bath the other day. Although that might be because Yurio was there too and both of them were completely spent after the day of training..

“No, no.” He stuttered, palms pressed against his ears, as if somehow that would bleach the image from his mind, “If I’m going to win, I need any advantage I can get.”

“Why? You can win with a single quad.” Victor smiled, “You just have to get a perfect score in artistic interpretation.” Not that Yuuri would have any problem doing that, it was his specialty after all.

Unfortunately, Yuuri wilted at this suggestion. He immediately buried his head in his arms. Victor gave him a total of 5 seconds before he stood up.

“Yuuri? Do you know why I came all the way from Russia to be your coach.”

“Huh?”

“Because of the music your body creates when you skate. I can hear the music when you move on the ice.” He grasped Yuuri’s hand tightly, the water beads slid down their clasped hands and down Yuuri’s body. Victor tried his hardest not to look down, and kept his eyes fixed firmly on Yuuri’s face. “I want to create a program that fully shows off your capability.”

“I’m the only one that can do it.” Victor moved closer. This way, his eyes wouldn’t be tempted to trail down. Instead he took advantage of his position to murmur softly in Yuuri’s ear. Victor pretended not to hear the sounds that was coming at the back of Yuuri’s throat. “My instincts tells me that.”

Victor suddenly flashed a smile, tugging Yuuri out of the water. Yuuri gave an adorable yelp as he emerged with a splash.

“Your short program validated that!” Victor beamed, proceeding to let go of the younger skater’s hand, letting him fall back without warning, eliciting another yelp that he took no heed of. Victor joined him in the hot springs, moving behind Yuuri while he emerged spluttering and coughing as he tried to shake off the water that clung to his face and hair.

He took Yuuri’s wrists and calf in his hands, lifting them even as the younger man gave sounds of protests, “You should try producing your own free program this season, I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with beautiful dance moves.” At that, Victor’s mouth curved into a secret smile.

“But- but my previous coach always did it for me.” Yuuri tried to struggle. Instead of letting him go, Victor tightened his grip on his body.

Yuuri's skin was warm from soaking in the hot water and sheer embarrassment, tiny beads of water still hung on his hair and body. Victor loosened his hold on Yuuri, allowing his hand followed the path of the droplets and caressed gently around his middle. Yuuri obeyed his silent command and placed his own hand over his.

They had shared the hot springs several times during Victor’s stay, but this was the first time they were in such close proximity to each other. A bubbly feeling filled Victor, this was just like the banquet, except their roles were reversed. He wanted to kiss Yuuri right then and demand why he had been ignored. A warm sensation bloomed in his stomach and Victor’s hand dipped in surprise.

“Victor.” Yuuri managed to breathed out before Victor could drop into a more dangerous territory. He quickly snapped out of it, moving his hand to caress Yuuri’s face, he flashed a bright smile at Yuuri even as he guided the younger man into a stretching pose.

“Who was your coach again?” He managed in his most normal voice, lifting Yuuri’s leg higher and higher with each unsatisfactory answer. They ended up facing each other in the end, each painfully aware of the fact that the other was naked and their bodies were too close to be considered normal.

“I’m your coach aren’t I Yuuri?” Blue eyes kept their hold on brown, “So why won’t you listen to me?” Yuuri’s leg was still in his hand, but it was resting lightly on his shoulder. The other’s skin suddenly felt feverishly hot.

“But-”

“Yuuri.” He tried, letting down the other’s feet gently, “At least promise me you’ll try before giving up?” Victor could feel Yuuri’s confusion at his insistence, but he didn’t bother to address it.

Would Yuuri care if Victor said that he wanted  _ Yuuri _ to produce a program for him just like Victor had produced Eros for  _ Yuuri _ ?

* * *

 

“Eh? You still haven’t made up your mind about your free program music? Why can’t you just trust your own judgment? Just choose something on impulse and run with it.” Now what did Victor do when choreographed his own programs, “Oh, oh, maybe like the time when you were loved by your lover.” Victor felt proud of the suggestion. There, he shared his own experience with Yuuri, and he was certain the hint didn’t sound too obvious.

“What?!” Victor blinked, and  _ Yuuri  _ was looking up at him. His face vocalizing exactly what he didn't like about his suggestion. Victor almost forgot to breath, it had been quite a while since Onsen on Ice, and he missed  _ Yuuri _ a lot.

That moment of silence was apparently enough for  _ Yuuri _ to turn back to Yuuri as his face ashened in realization. 

“Sorry, sorry. That was -- just, I.”

“Yuuri doesn’t have a lover do you?” Victor supplied disappointedly, eyes scrutinizing the other, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

It was an understatement to say that Victor felt bad for mixing up the two Yuuris. He knew Yuuri didn’t like to talk about relationships and Victor had overstepped his boundaries and now he had, to put it frankly -- pissed Yuuri off. 

Yuuri avoided him for the next few days, Victor didn’t blame him. He would be mad too if someone had invaded their personal bubbles like that.  _ Yuuri _ was the first one that Victor had tried to get close to, and the longer that Victor spent with him, the longer he was able to differentiate between the two. He just sort of assumed that  _ Yuuri  _ and Yuuri were the same.

He tried talking to him over the past few days, but their conversation always went like this.

“Yuuri, let’s go somewhere together.”

"No thanks.”

“Yuuri! Let’s go take a bath together.”

“I’m going to bed.”

“Yuuri, let’s sleep together.”

**SLAM**

By the fifth time, Victor was ready to tear out his hair. Whoever had said that third time's the charm had not met Katsuki Yuuri.

Still, Victor didn’t want to give up and apologize to Yuuri. Maybe it was his Russian blood, but he just didn’t give up that easily.

When Yuuri skipped practise for the day to avoid him, that was the final straw for him. Sure, he had been understanding of Yuuri not wanting to talk to him. But skipping practise was unforgivable! That was like spitting on sacred ground.

“Good morning Yuuri!”, Victor plastered on a cheerful smile. “Let’s go to the beach.”

Judging by how Yuuri quivered in his duvet, Victor concluded he must have not been successful at concealing his thinly disguised threat. Oops.

The wave washed by the two of them in silence as they stared at the distant horizon. Makkachin had gone with them, but the dog was surprisingly quiet, almost as if he knew that they needed the silence.

“Seagulls.”

“Black-tailed gulls.” Yuuri shot down his assumption mercilessly.

Victor’s eyebrows twitched before smoothing over, “They remind me of Saint Petersburg you know? I wake up every morning hearing their cries and expect to be back home.”

The gulls chirped peacefully over their heads, flying to and fro with their groups, a steamboat chugged happily across their sight. “I never thought I’d leave there, so I never really noticed their cries. Have you ever felt like that at times?”

Yuuri shifted slightly, his arms closed around his legs, “There was this girl in Detroit, she was always talking to me. One day, one of my rink mates got hurt and I went with him to the hospital. The girl was with me, and she hugged me when I was waiting in worry.”

Yuuri paused at that. Victor tried not to look at Yuuri. Was this how Yuuri felt when he left Detroit? Did he leave his girlfriend behind? Did he miss Detroit and maybe regret asking Victor to come and coach him?

“I pushed her away without thinking.”

“Wow, why?” That did not sound like Yuuri at all. And Victor could not keep the amazement out of his voice.

“She intruded on my feelings. I felt like I was baring myself to the whole world. I hated that.” Yuuri’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. He was speaking to his legs. “It was then I realized that my family and Minako, Nishigori and Yuuko. They never treated me as a weakling, but kept their distance and supported me all the way out here.”

Yuuri was opening up to him, the other man realized. He was showing weakness by telling his story to Victor. Yuuri trusted him by telling him this, Yuuri forgave him for his mistake. A small smile appeared on Victor’s face.

“You’re not weak Yuuri.” Victor himself knew that clearly, he had seen  _ Yuuri _ ranking last in the GPF, but come back with a vengeance to reign first in Victor’s heart. Yuuri might not see it like that himself, but to Victor, that was plenty of proof, “No one else thinks that, either.”

Yuuri probably didn’t get why he was saying all that. But that was alright, as long as Victor managed to tell him and return his feelings…

“Yuuri, what do you want me to be to you? A father figure? A brother? Friend?” Victor allowed a pause between each question, giving Yuuri ample time to answer ‘No’ to each one of them. “Or…”

“Lover?” He asked coyly, enjoying the fact that Yuuri jumped five foot tall and immediately shake his head. “I’ll try my best.” He was glad that Yuuri was feeling better again.

“I want Victor to keep being Victor.” 

His vision was blurry, the wind had started up and his hair was covering one of his eyes. He couldn’t see what expression was on Yuuri’s face, but Victor would like to imagine that Yuuri was serious. Makkachin whined next to him, as if he too understood that what Yuuri said was important.

“I’ve always looked up to you.” Victor had heard that story a million times already, but it was still surreal listening to it coming out of Yuuri’s mouth. “I tried ignoring you so you wouldn’t see my shortcomings…”

“I’ll make it all up to you with my skating!”

Yuuri sounded serious, his black hair blowing messily in the wind. Neither of them moved, and Victor took the time to examine Yuuri carefully.The Russian skater could pinpoint where Yuuri’s glasses were, the blue a stark contrast on white and black. But he still couldn’t see his face. The resolution of his statement convinced Victor more than anything else.

He smiled, “Okay. I won’t let you off this easily then. That’s my love.”

_ I promise I'll make you win gold Yuuri. And when you do, I promise I’ll make you happier than that girl did. _

* * *

 

“Victor, let’s do that part again.”

“Wow, how many thousands of time has it been?” Victor asked, lifting his head tiredly to look at Yuuri. He was the complete opposite of Victor, still standing tall even when his face flushed red with exertion.

“It’s only been the thirteenth time.” Yuuri looked strangely serious.

Victor shrugged and bent down, wincing a bit when his shoulders groaned in protest. “Well, I’ve always known that you’ve got quite a bit of stamina, and you’re younger then I am.” Strange, Yuuri was surprisingly quiet, “And you haven’t had any serious injuries.”

Poke. Victor paused. Was that Yuuri’s finger? His own hand raised tentatively to touch where Yuuri’s hand had been. Yuuri was babbling apologies now, but Victor could only stare at the ice in horror. The snow on his blade crumbling under his frozen finger.

There was a reason why he always chose to stand at the back for group photos.That way, he didn’t have to crouch and he would always look taller than others.

“It’s thinning isn’t it?” He whimpered pathetically, tears prickling at his eyes, “It’s been that dangerous already?”

“No, no, no! Everything okay!”

That was the most insincere reassurance he had ever heard, Victor flopped to the ice in despair. He had always been careful to keep his head away from any prying eyes, he had learnt from the best. After all, Yakov himself lost all his authority the moment that his head showed balding. Now that Yuuri knew his secret, he could just imagine Yuuri teasing him about it every day.

“Ah, I’ve been hurt. I can’t recover from this.”

Yuuri in a dogeza was quickly becoming a daily occurrence.

“I’m sorry Victor, please get up!” Victor could hear the frantic pleading of his student above him. He lay there for a minute before hearing Yuuri’s insistence that he didn’t mean it.

But Victor was still going to blame the whole episode of Yuuri being mad at him for his newfound weakness. 

It wasn’t long after their beachside talk that the free skating music was completed. The soft music still resounded in his ear after the entire night. It was so different from the thousands of skating music that Victor had listened to throughout his career. 

He would say that he was well versed in music now, but Yuuri’s music...it was almost as if he could imagine him skating just from listening to it. He could tell exactly where the jump would be, where the step sequence was, where the combination spin ended.

“Victor you’re the violin and I’m the piano!” Yuuri had shouted at him just that morning when he handed in his CD , scrambling away quickly before Victor could blink.

There wasn’t a violin part when Yuuri let him hear it yesterday.

“I asked the girl to add in the violin bit.” Yuuri told him shyly when Victor finally got the chance to listen to the new version. “The song’s supposed to represent my skating career.”

The older man didn’t understand it all, but Yuuri did say that this song was supposed to be about his skating career. And if Victor was the violin, he’d weave in and out of Yuuri’s life and change it just as Yuuri had changed his. 

Yuuri really took his words to heart. He had already written up the quads he wanted in his program. Victor smiled as he took in the detailed list, it was almost as if Yuuri had suddenly grown up. He didn’t shy away from things that were difficult for him anymore.

He was halfway slipping off his jacket when he realized something. “Oh Yuuri, have you change the theme for the song yet?”

“Oh.” Yuuri looked sheepish, Victor wonder what his theme could be, “The theme is ‘On My Love’.”

Blue eyes widened, unable to comprehend the huge weight that this simple sentence held.

_ On My Love. _

The same way that Victor had decided that he wanted Eros to represent his brief time with  _ Yuuri _ . On My Love.

“That’s the best theme Yuuri.”

Yuuri never stopped surprising him. Everyday at practise was met with a new surprise. Yuuri didn’t stop evolving, surpassing his expectations for him from day one. Everything that came out of Yuuri’s mouth was like a new present, filling him with delight.

“Yuuri, you haven’t decided a name for your piece yet. What will it be?”

Victor watched the marker scratched thin lines on the pure white disc slowly.

_ Yuri on Ice _

“Perfect.” He couldn’t have came up with a better name. No matter for the song or Yuri on ice. Both of them were perfect in their own way.


	5. Eyes On You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter was kind of hard for me to write. Originally, I thought that there couldn't have been many Victuuri scenes in this one than the Grand Prix Series. Boy, how wrong was I. I couldn't cut out most of the things as they established Victor and Yuuri's relationship. And just imagining having to describe Eros and Yuri on Ice for 3 more times each just gave me a headache.

Today was the day of the Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu Figure Skating Championships. Don’t let the whole title impress you. To put it bluntly, it was an entrance exam to deem if Yuuri was fit to participate in the Grand Prix.

“Wow!” The venue was unlike all the others that Victor had been too, “It’s a very quaint stadium.”

“Don’t say anything.” Yuuri’s voice came a few feet behind him, “You’ll just make it worse.”

“Really? I was just about to say that this looks really simple compared with the Fisht Olympic Stadium.” Victor was already scoping out the building, if the surrounding people looked hard enough, they’d probably find a few sparkles that clashed horribly with the dark cloud behind him.

They had arrived at Okayama just a couple of hours before. The inn they were staying at had been very accommodating. Allowing them to leave their bags there immediately after arriving and then hurrying to the stadium. Night was quickly dawning, and Yuuri would be going into the stadium to pick his entrance order and then early next morning he would be getting ready for his first public practise and SP. Victor did not get why this had to be on two different days. They could’ve easily have arranged all of that tonight.

“Ah, I can’t wait to see _Yuuri_ perform Eros again.” Victor told Yuuri, skipping ahead to the interior of the stadium and was immediately bombarded with flashlights.

Yuuri’s weak yell of disbelief was similarly smothered by the eager reporters.

“Yuuri will do absolutely fine.” He told one of them, smiling serenely at the camera, “After all, he’s got me as his coach.”

Distantly he heard Yuuri being carted off to somewhere, but the other reporters would not let go of the chance to interview the famous Living Legend.

“Mr Nikiforov sir. What made you decide to coach Yuuri Katsuki? We asked your own coach, but so far he hasn’t said anything regarding it.”

“That was my own decision. Let’s just say that I see something in Yuuri that others can’t. We can help each other.”

“But Mr Katsuki did so badly during the last season.” The reporter pressed, “What could you have possibly-”

“Maybe you just need some new glasses, because whoever you had been looking at is not Yuuri.” Victor smiled, blue eyes seizing the other up, “Is this what you get paid to do? Putting skaters down?”

That reported stuttered a quick apology before darting away with his cameraman, muttering furiously into his microphone.

“Let’s not talk about me!” Victor flashed a bright smile at the murmuring crowd, “Who wants to know more about Yuuri?”

* * *

 

“He really likes pork cutlet bowls. That’s why his Eros is modeled after it. No, no, I had nothing to do with his interpretation.”

This was the scene that Yuuri had came back to. Victor spotted his haggard face miles away and quickly waved him over with an enthusiastic ‘Yuuri!’.

“Come on Yuuri, tell the reporters what you think of the competition?”

“Huh? Oh, I’ve been told that I’m the oldest out of all of them…”

“Wow, so Yuuri’s the most experienced one out of them.” Victor beamed, he didn’t get why Yuuri was so worried then, “I’m sure he can just take it easy and earn a personal best this time.”

Yuuri stiffened almost automatically, as if he’d heard this before, “I told you that despite behind a top contender in the Nationals, I missed everything and bombed the whole program…”

Yuuri was babbling along now, but Victor only caught ‘bombed the whole program’. Yup, they had this talk before. Several times in fact.

“Wow.” He repeated.

They stayed there for a couple more minutes, allowing the reporters to ask more about Yuuri’s short program before they drifted off to interview the others.

“Well Yuuri?”

“First. It was horrible.” Yuuri looked like someone had kicked his puppy and Victor had to smother a laugh. He had to act like a responsible 27 year old and this was no time to have fun.  
  
“Just like your Nationals huh?”

Yuuri sighed, “Yeah, I’m no good with drawing lots. The goddess of luck must get a kick out of watching me fail every time.”

“Well, I think the god of luck is right here with me.” He pulled Yuuri into a tight hug, “You’ll do just fine in whatever order your skating.”

Yuuri’s voice was gentle, “Thank you Victor.”

“Now then, let’s get back to the hotel! Minako and your friend’s going to come early to cheer you on after all!”

“Eh? Victor, when did they decide?”

“Just now of course.”

* * *

 

The next morning at Okayama International Skating Rink.

“Yuuri! Makkachin’s cheering for you.” Victor thrusted his precious tissue box at Yuuri. He had it specially made for his competitions and he was glad he managed to steal it from Yakov before he left Russia. His coach liked taking it to the Kiss and Cry too much, he wouldn’t put it past him to bring it to Yura’s competitions too.

“Oh, yeah. Real cute.”

He pouted, “At least say it like you mean it.” It was modelled after his Makkachin and no one in the world could resist Makkachin’s cuteness!

Yuuri rolled his eyes, before patting the soft brown head. His expression clearly saying, ‘He’s cute, is that what you wanted to hear?’

“Makkachin’s at home Yuuri. Just you wait till I tell her.” He yelled after the younger skater. Yuuri ignored him and launched into his Eros without a moment's hesitation.

“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem then.” He mused. Now, if only he could figure out what to do with the short program this afternoon.

A couple minutes later found Victor tearing out of the rink and down the road. Ask any of the spectators and they would’ve all agreed on something..

“It was like Nikiforov suddenly realized it was the apocalypse.”

Victor did not stop running until he got back to the inn. He shouted a quick hello to the innkeeper before dashing up his room.

It wasn’t until an hour later, Victor found himself judging the sanity of his actions. His suitcase was empty, and suits were strewn across his bed.

He mentally berated himself. What was he doing? Coming all the way back to the inn to change his clothes. He was Yuuri’s coach, he represented Yuuri, so it was logical that he had to wear his best suits right?

Now...which one of those blacks went well with Yuuri’s Eros costume.

Somehow Victor felt like he was a schoolgirl fussing over what to wear for her first date. He felt like pulling his hair again.

* * *

 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Victor greeted, but underneath his cool facade he was sweating bullets. He had ran all the way back when he realized he was running late.

“Why did you change clothes?!” Ah, Yuuri, the things he did for him. The girls surrounding him were screaming again.

“Today is my glorious debut as your coach, so I should be in formal dress.”

“You’re absolutely right...”

Wow, Yuuri believed him. Victor didn’t know if he should be happy for Yuuri’s implicit trust in him or not.

“Yuuri let’s go get ready.” Victor exclaimed, smiling brightly. Yuuri exhaled softly, used to his antics already and allowed Victor to lead him away from the chattering crowd.

He caught sight of Minako and Yuuri’s friend frowning at him and he waved cheerfully at them before dragging Yuuri off again.

“That’s a nice suit Victor.” Yuuri told him, still looking away from him.

Victor’s grin widened, “Why thank you. Now during this 10 minutes warm up, I want Yuuri to do his best.”

Yuuri’s mouth dropped open at his sudden change of topic. And Victor hurriedly raise a finger to stop him.

“Competitions are competitions Yuuri. No matter if you’re confident or not. We can always do what we want when we get back to the inn.” He added in a wink for good measure.

Yuuri brightened almost instantly, “I- I.”

“Go on Yuuri. We’ll have this discussion later.”

He cast a lingering gaze on Yuuri as he bent down to take off his blade guards.

“Now what should I say to send you off.” He mused, taking the guards from Yuuri, “Yuuri, Yuuri, what do you want me to say to you?”

“Yuuri?” The man had skated off immediately without giving him an answer. Huh.

Ah, that look on his face, Victor recognized it. He had seen it at Onsen on Ice after all. Not that flew blown panic, but nervousness nonetheless. And it was impeding Yuuri’s ability to skate to his best.

He sighed, planting his face in his palm. After he had just told Yuuri not to get nervous, he must’ve messed up somehow. Yakov never really had much trouble in getting his skaters to listen to him. But then, Victor had never been much of a worrier.

The warm up minutes counted down agonizingly slow, and Yuuri finally returned to the barrier. His dark look must have alerted the skater to his dissatisfaction, and Yuuri shied away from him almost instinctively.

“Yuuri, turn around.” He ordered. Yuuri’s face clearly said a thousands ‘do not want’. But Victor was standing firm. Yuuri would turn around, one way or another.

He did so hesitatingly, muscles taut, getting ready to flee at a moments notice and Victor wrapped his arms around him almost immediately. The shutters of cameras went off around him. The only thing that mattered was Yuuri in his arms again.

Victor breathed in the smell of the black fabric. Yuuri treasured his Eros costume way too much, he could remember the day that Yuuri unearthed it from it’s spot those months ago. His eyes had light up immediately, as if he’d recognized it. Victor himself had to take a moment to recall it was his costume from his Junior days.

When he was 15 years old to be exact. He still wondered how Yuuri managed to fit in it.

But Yuuri cleaned up his costume real good. The musk that had first been presented on the costume had been replaced by a tea leafy smell.

"Seduce me with everything you have.” He opened his eyes slowly. “The time for you to imagine a katsudon is over. If you can seduce me, you can do anything.”

Yuuri’s pounding heart slowed as he took in Victor’s words. And his frozen muscles slowly relaxed. The older man allowed himself to bask in Yuuri’s warmth for a couple more seconds before letting go.

“Just like you do at practises.”

The other man skated to the center of the rink and took his starting position. Hands swaying slightly by his side. The strings strummed and _Yuuri’s_ face took on his Eros mode. At that Victor gave a nod. A few seconds into the program and _Yuuri_ was starting on his step sequences, each step light and without hesitation.

His specialty, the triple axel was perfect as always, the rotations were in and his legs a perfect angle to the ice. But the next quad didn’t go as smoothly as the first one. The salchow over rotated but Yuuri managed to get back up and dive right back into the music.

Victor sighed. Yuuri did practise a lot after Onsen on Ice, but it looked like he still hadn’t managed to grasp the technique. Ah, Yuuri’s face. He was getting nervous again. Honestly, it was just a small mistake.

Yuuri’s actions were smooth, but his facial expression tightened, hardly the image of a sultry lady seducing the man of the town.

His short program ended with his combination jump’s triple turning into a double and as if echoing his sentiments, the audience's reaction was lukewarm.

If Yuuri was expecting to be praised after that dreadful performance, he was dead wrong.

“The start of the program was perfect, I could feel your Eros building up and then you lost yourself at the salchow and the program spiralled down from there. I could hardly feel the story through your skating and I was the one who came up with the choreography, how do you expect the audience to understand it now.”

“Right.”

“I don’t really like what you did there today Yuuri.”

Yuuri mumbled another apology, face burning from shame. The reporters chattered away as they looked on at his lecture.

94.36. First Place.

This was the first time that Eros had received a mark. And to be honest, Victor had expected a better one. His image of Yuuri deserved a higher mark than this.

“Well, if Yuuri was less nervous, I’m sure he’d be able to get an over hundred mark right? Makkachin?”

The little poodle box barked twice as if to voice his agreement.

“As I’m sure Victor will be able to say that. After all, you’re the man who broke the world record multiple times. In fact all of them were in the hundreds.”

Victor clutched his heart, “How could you say that? I put time and energy in breaking those records too you know? If Yuuri had done the same, you would’ve succeeded.”

Yuuri’s face grew darker if it was even possible.

Victor quickly suggested, “Let’s go outside, maybe we can enlighten the reporters about your program.”

* * *

 

“How does skater Katsuki feel about his Free Skating tomorrow.”

“Uh, well.” Yuuri began, not used to the attention he was getting. Victor however was right in his element.

“Of course you’ll see a perfect Yuuri.” Victor stepped in front of Yuuri easily. “I can promise you that Yuuri will be at his best tomorrow.”

“Victor.” Yuuri whispered, “You can’t just promise people something like that.”

“Well, it’ll be up to Yuuri not to make his coach look like a liar then.” Was Victor’s hushed reply, he was grinning like a maniac and he knew it.

Yuuri looked like he wanted to protest, but a question from behind them had them both turning to look. It was that small blonde skater, Victor noted in surprise. It looked like he had finished skating too.

People were looking on when the child bursted into tears, which made no sense since he was pulling down the zipper of the jacket a moment later.

The jacket did look nice, Victor observed, black with a blue lining. He had to admit, the Japanese Sports Association did have good taste in designing their team jackets. Yuuri himself looked positively stunning in that simple black jacket of his.

The skating costume underneath however. Victor had to blink a couple of times to get rid of the sharp light. That was a incredibly gaudy piece of clothing that had Victor feeling sorry for the child who was wearing it. Victor himself would never be caught dead with it.

The boy and Yuuri were exchanging heated sentences now. Victor only caught it because Yuuri was looking slightly nervous and the boy’s voice had raised. Honestly, if the boy was issuing a challenge, at least have a decency to do it in English so Victor could understand it and get a chance to defend Yuuri’s honour.

The reporters that had been interviewing him and Yuuri got excited immediately, barking off questions at the two skaters. Victor could only watch as his smile got more and more strained.

Looks like he’ll have to ask Yuuri what exactly did the boy say.

* * *

 

“About the Free Skating tomorrow, I want Yuuri to lower the difficulty of the jumps and focus on the performance.”

“Why?” Yuuri burst out, immediately stopping to look at Victor. “Is it because of my performance earlier today? I can do better tomorrow, I promise not to let you down.”

Victor gave a troubled smile, “Well, it’s not necessarily that.” He held up Makkachin in an attempt to stop Yuuri from grabbing him, “The challenge, I want Yuuri to do his best.”

“The challenge?”

“With the boy.” Victor clarified, “The other Japanese boy.”

Yuuri looked confused for a second before his eyes cleared, “Minami?”

Victor nodded, “He issued a challenge, and I want Yuuri to do your best so you can prove it to yourself.”

“But-”

“It’s not too bad to take it easy first and then peak at the Grand Prix Finals is it? Or are you refusing to listen to your coach?” Victor peeked out from Makkachin, Yuuri had that expression on again.

“But I-”

“Yuuri.” Victor repeated, “I know you want to prove it to me. But sometimes it’s better to let go.”

Yuuri carefully extracted Makkachin from his arms, “Alright, I guess I’ll be waiting at the inn for you then.”

Damn, it backfired. “Yuuri!”

* * *

 

Victor spotted the black and blue jacket miles away. Yuuri was still standing exactly where Victor had left him. He pursed his lips, this was bad, perhaps he shouldn’t have said that to Yuuri. After all, he knew that the younger skater had a glass heart. He might have sent him into shock with his careless beratement.

He had missed his time with Yuuri on the ice because he had not bothered to pay attention to his rivals. Victor knew from experience that ignoring the competition was disrespectful. Yakov had told him that several times, but he didn’t know that Yuuri would be doing that too.

In his mind, Yuuri was a perfect person. He could do no wrong. That was why Victor was so disappointed when he saw Yuuri refusing to reach out to that other skater.

Perhaps he should go down and apologize? If only to try and cheer Yuuri up and make sure he didn’t mess up the free program. Victor stood up, looking at the crowd once again to find Yuuri. The black bob had moved somewhere near the barriers now, close to the other skater.

“Good luck, Minami!” Yuuri yelled over the cheering crowd. The Japanese skater’s face was slightly red from embarrassment.

Oh.

Somehow, Victor found that this Yuuri was adorable too. He cocked his head slightly, watching as Yuuri turned away from the program and head back down to the entrance. He shook his head and a light smile appeared on his face.

He headed back down from the audience seats, pausing slightly to see the other skater’s performance. The boy was good, his steps were excellent, but his jumps needed work. He was just like Yuuri in that aspect.

The lobby was quiet and for a second, Victor was afraid that Yuuri had left. Then he caught sight of the other man. Yuuri was near the car park, stretching on his mat. Victor moved a little closer, but Yuuri hardly paid any attention to him, earphones still on. Each stretch slowly and gently, his muscles rippling under his jacket. Victor could hear the audience’s cheering, and he backed away slowly, casting one last proud smile.

When Yuuri came back, Victor was waiting. The other black haired boy had entered his final segment. The crowd was all waiting with bated breath to see how it would all end.

Yuuri slipped off his jacket silently, handing it to Victor. His Yuri on Ice costume finally in full display in public. Victor had seen it before, but under the blinding lights of the rink, it looked a whole new kind of different. The middle belt like mesh was slightly transparent, allowing for Victor to glimpse a hint of Yuuri’s sculpted abs before they faded in the changing lights.

“Ah, your lips are slightly chapped.” Victor murmured, taking out his lip balm. Ever since Onsen on Ice, he always carried it with him. And these days, he seemed to use it a lot since Yuuri was skating.

He dabbed a generous amount with his fingertips and applied them to Yuuri’s lips. The rough skin melting into silk under the balm. He proceeded to pull Yuuri into another hug, noticing the other’s relief at his silent attempt at encouraging him.

Go on Yuuri. Victor wanted to tell him. This is your story, tell everyone what you want to express through your skating.

“His free program today will feature music composed especially and choreographed by his coach Victor Nikiforov. According to our source, this is supposed to represent Katsuki’s own skating career.”

Yuri on Ice.

The lilting notes of the piano started and Yuuri raised his cupped hands in response to it. Slowly and surely, Yuuri began to skate around the rink in graceful circles. The first quad was coming up.

Victor eyes widened. A quad double? That wasn’t what Victor had told him to do. Was Yuuri going to add a triple to his second half?

Or was he going back to the three quads? Did Yuuri forgot that Victor had told him to focus on his performance rather than his jumps?

His face froze the minute the violin came in. Victor narrowed his eyes in response. The violin was describing the happiest moment of his life, Yuuri should feel that too. He had been the one who told him that Victor was the violin he had asked his friend to add in. Yuuri’s expression at that point looked like he didn’t like it at all.

Ah ah. The quad salchow. Yuuri did revert back to his original program despite Victor’s warning.

A Triple Loop. That was perfect.

The music slowed down and Yuuri slowly spread his arms apart. His eyes closed peacefully as he allowed himself to glide over the ice.

The second half was coming, Yuuri slid into a perfect outside spread eagle. Slowing down into a Ina Bauer.

_Skate like you’re the most beautiful person on the ice right now._

That’s right, trust in yourself, and when you do. No matter what you do will be beautiful in the eyes of others.

Triple Axel!

Triple Flip. Ah, Yuuri over rotated.

Victor shook his head viciously. No, he had just expressed his faith in Yuuri. Yuuri would finish this program, Victor had no doubt.

A double and a triple. Victor could hear the audience’s increasing murmurs right now. Each of them in awe at what seemed to be a high difficulty combination. Yuuri was skating in time to the music, that was why.

_Why you can’t look away!_

The music continued, the piano rising into a crescendo just as Yuuri launched into his quadruple toe loop and smacked his face against the barriers in the process.

Victor sighed, hand going to his forehead. Hugging Makkachin closer, he smiled.

He did tell Yuuri to change it into a triple for more points. Well, Yuuri was always so stubborn. He chuckled, returning his attention to the finale.

_I wonder who he takes after, to be so rebellious to his coach…_

The audience were cheering again and the last notes of the piano faded.

Oh, Yuuri’s face.

_It’s me._

If it had been Yakov, Victor would have suffered an instant lecture. But-

The blonde boy was yelling next to him. And Victor could hear Minako’s own shout of ‘Yuuri!’ in the midst of thousands of the same cheers.

Well, Yuuri wasn’t Victor.

* * *

 

Their return to Hasetsu was met with cheers all around. Everywhere Victor looked, he could find posters of Yuuri celebrating the return of the Japanese skater. Katsuki Yu-topia held a huge banquet and Yuuri was finally allowed to have his Katsudon.

Sadly, the party didn’t last long as Yuuri was quickly carted off to announce his theme for that season. Nearly the whole town gathered at the hot springs to watch Yuuri’s announcement.

The announcement was in Japanese of course, which Victor still didn’t understand. Yuuri was the only male skater on the podium and he was the first to present his theme.

The single kanji in the middle of his board stood out in stark contrast with the other four neat ones that Victor had come to recognize as Yuuri’s name. Each single stroke was written carefully. Yuuri was beginning to speak, and Victor turned his attention to his student.

Two hands on the microphone, Yuuri stared explaining his theme. There was a light dusting of pink as he began and he ended up speaking faster and faster as if trying to get his words out before he could lose his nerve.

Seeing as he wouldn’t understand it, Victor sighed and his attention wandered to Yuuri’s suit. That suit with the badge on...Victor recognized it, along with that blue necktie.

He never thought he’d see it again, Victor smiled ruefully, rubbing his wrists. He was going to have Yuuri dispose of it the moment he got back.

“Grand Prix Final...medal.” The TV Yuuri yelled out and Victor heard Yuuko and Minako’s comments next to him.

“When you come back Yuuri, we’ll have to burn that unfashionable necktie. I’ll buy you a new one before the cup of China.”

Makkachin barked excitedly.


	6. Theme of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I turned two episodes into one single chapter. I felt like this would best convey the emotions that Victor feels rather than having it in two separate chapters. Also, I will be going on holiday during the Easter break. So probably no updates until I come back.

“Hey, hey Yakov, wanna come and have hotpot with us? There’s a really nice one nearby I wanted to try.”

Blink.

“Yuuri, Yakov’s not interested.” Interview already forgotten in his mind, he began to drag his student out, “Let’s go.”

“Eh, Victor!!!”

Victor laughed, Yuuri never did learn, he should’ve known better then to argue with him. He always got his way no matter what.

The restaurant was located in one of the alleys by the Capital stadium. It was located far back within the alley, so that whoever visited it could not have possibly stumbled upon it. There was a reason Victor knew it was here. First, because he knew where good food was. Second-

The outside of the hot pot shop was decorated in the style of a traditional Chinese house with several big red lanterns lighting the plaque.

Shen Xiang Zi.

The inside of the restaurant was slightly more modern than the outside, with a glass door that was covered with posters advertising the current Grand Prix Series. 

“Hi.” Victor greeted the man that had stepped forward to serve them.

“Victor.” A large smile enveloped the face of Mr. Chan, stepping up to embrace the Russian in a tight hug, “I was worried that you wouldn’t come here.”

Victor had met Mr. Chan on one of his many trips to China. He was still growing back then, a prepubescent teen hungry for food around the world, he had spent the first few days in China seeking out all the local delicacies and avoiding Yakov at the sametime. Even though he hadn’t gained any weight in his days of binge eating, Yakov still insisted that he be banned from going out on his own to find food.

It had been a normal day, with him sneaking out under Yakov’s nose and making it as far as he could with his rusty English and Russian. Turns out English didn’t help him too much as he had wandered into one of the smaller towns. None of it’s townspeople spoke English and Victor was half stranded and hungry by the time noon had arrived.

Coincidentally, Mr. Chan had been living in the city center and had been visiting his hometown for the day when he had found him -- the lost foreign child salivating at the sight of steamed buns.

Taking pity on him, Mr. Chan had bought him five steam buns that Victor had wolfed down in record time. During that time, he had found out that Mr. Chan was a chef that travelled the world in search of ingredients and cooking methods to implement into the traditional Chinese cuisine. It was fortunate that he understood English from his years of travelling and had been patient enough to understand Victor’s own.

“Come to China to ice skating competition.” Victor had said, looking proud at his first conversation with a Chinese local.

“Grand Prix?” Mr. Chan had known immediately that the competition that Victor was referring to was in fact the GP Cup of China.

“Yes, yes.” Victor nodded his head enthusiastically, “You watch skating too?” 

Mr. Chan chuckled, “Not really, but I was near Beijing a few days ago and I know that they were setting up the stadium.”

“I skate there. But coach wouldn’t let me go out and eat.” Victor pouted, “Want to eat different kind of Chinese food.”

“Well, it’s good you’re willing to eat, you are a growing boy after all. But I think your coach is doing this for your own good. After all, you do have an international competition later on, and if you had gotten lost like now, your coach will be worried. He’s probably worried now.” Mr. Chan smiled at him, “Tell you what, if you like eating so much, win this competition of yours and I’ll show you some of the best places in Beijing.”

So Victor won his first gold medal in that year’s Grand Prix because he was seduced by the promise of authentic Chinese food.

Mr. Chan had made good on his word and took Victor out after the Cup of China. He had then proceeded to give Victor his contact so that anytime Victor came to China, he would get updates on the latest food.

It was just last year that Mr. Chan finally settled down and opened the hotpot restaurant and Victor had been looking to visit it ever since he had been told of it. Going there with Yuuri was just a bonus.

“Never.” He winked, “And look, I brought you a new guest.”

“Ah, the Japanese skater you’re coaching.”

Victor laughed, “So you do pay attention to what I’ve been doing these days.”

“Of course. I’ll always remember you as that lost Russian boy.”

“Yuuri, Yuuri, let me introduce you two. This is Mr. Chan, the owner of this hotpot restaurant. And Mr. Chan, you know who Yuuri is.”

“Nin hao.” Yuuri fumbled with his Chinese for a bit.

“Ni hao.” Victor repeated for his sake.

“Ni hao.” Yuuri tried again obediently, this time, the pronunciation was much clearer.

“Ni hao.” Mr. Chan replied with amusement, “Come, I’ve got a free table just for you Victor.”

They were led further down into the restaurant, a sudden warmth filling them as they walked pass tables and tables full of steaming hot pots. Their patrons laughing and talking as they put vegetables into the pot.

Table 16 was near the end of the restaurant with a Chinese styled partition that allowed them a glimpse of the other table. Already on the table was a mixed soup base, Sichuan chilli and the normal clear chicken base.

“I’ll take anything that you recommend.” Victor smiled happily, “Oh, and let me try some of those Chinese rice wine too.”

Mr. Chan let the two of them settle in properly before turning on the stove for them and leaving to put their order.

“Yuuri, have you tried Chinese food before? Mr. Chan does really good food here!”

“I didn’t come to China in the last Grand Prix, so I really didn’t have a chance to try it.” He peered at the hot pot curiously, the yellow and red soup starting to boil, “It’s like Japanese food right?”

“Mostly.” Victor agreed, “They have noodles and rice here, like in Japan, but you haven’t tried the good stuff have you?”

“Victor really likes to eat huh?” Yuuri lips twitched, “I’ve noticed that ever since you came to Hasetsu.”

“Well, I don’t eat as much as I did in my junior days.”

Yuuri’s eyebrows were twitching now, and Victor looked at him in concern, “You mean you call what you’re eating few?”

“Why yes. I used to eat at least 4 meals a day with snack breaks in between. I stopped after my senior debut though, Yakov told me that I was eating too much. Though I really can’t imagine why he would say that. I mean I haven’t gained any weight.”

Victor cocked his head in response to Yuuri’s mumbled, “Not fair.” What wasn't fair now?

Fortunately for himself or Yuuri, Mr Chan came back with the dishes. Already, Victor could pick out some of the delicacies he had been chasing around China all those years.

“All your favourite food, Victor.” The older man chuckled, “Now here’s the wine you asked for, drink responsibly now. You have a student in proximity.”

The Russian tutted, “What are you talking about. I’m always responsible.”

“Remember when we first met?”

Victor’s face split into a cheeky grin and he quickly swiped the bottle from Mr. Chan’s hand. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

The other man only sighed and left the two alone to their meal.

Yuuri peered curiously over the top of the table, and Victor started to point out the food and their names. There was the Shanghai Crab, Duck Blood, Drunken Shrimp. These were all his favourite food, now if only Mr. Chan’s restaurant did Peking Duck and Shanghai dumplings too…

Well, beggers can’t be choosers. Victor poked at a piece of shrimp, it twitched slightly.

“Yuuri, do you want some shrimp?”

The soft meat inside the shrimp dissolved in his mouth with the taste of traditional old wine.

“Vkusno!”

Yuuri looked slightly pale, “No thanks. I want to avoid raw food right before competitions.”

Victor shrugged and popped another shrimp into his mouth. Well he’ll take Yuuri to have some seafood before they left China. “It’s really good.”

Yuuri sighed, cheeks resting lightly on hands, “I ran my mouth too much at the press conference. What if I lose after this?”

Victor slurped up another shrimp before moving on to the duck blood. The red jelly already cut off into equal cubes and waiting for his consumption.

“Yuuri, you worry too much.” He waggled his chopsticks in front of the other man, “Have some of the noodles when they come up, they might calm your nerves for a bit.”

Yuuri gave another sigh, still too dejected to take in Victor’s advice.

“Oh, Yuuri?” An unexpected voice came from their left. Yuuri whipped around immediately and Victor followed shortly after nicking another of the duck blood cubes.

“Phichit!” 

“So that’s where you were eating.”

The other boy looked younger than Yuuri, and judging with how familiar Yuuri was with him, he had to be the Thai skater that had been training with Yuuri.

“Hi!” Victor greeted, it was great to see one of Yuuri’s friend here in the Grand Prix.

“Hello.”

“Talk about a coincidence.” Phichit sidled next to Yuuri, “Want me to call Ciao Ciao? You want to see him too don’t you? And then we can have a coach-student gathering.”

“Not really.” Yuuri held up his hand, but Phichit had already taken out his phone and started typing.

10 minutes later, the Ciao Ciao in person turned up.

“Ciao Ciao.”

Yuuri had asked to sit next to him to leave the space next to Phichit empty for Celestino. Victor himself was only too happy to oblige. And Yuuri nodded weakly at Celestino’s greetings.

“Do you want a shrimp?” Victor held out one of the many shrimps that Mr. Chan had added for him when he realized Victor still hadn’t had enough.

“Ah, no thanks. Those kind of food doesn’t agree with me.”

“It’s really good.” Victor repeated what he had told Yuuri, hand stretched to show Celestino the crystal clear shrimp.

“Victor.” Yuuri murmured underneath his arm, “Celestino doesn’t eat seafood.”

Victor pouted, retracting his arm. Yuuri was still squished under his arm and Victor held out the shrimp. “Just a taste?” 

“No.” Yuuri pushed away his hand resolutely, “I can smell the alcohol from here already. What would the judges say if I turned up drunk?”

“Well, drunk Yuuri would be more fun.”

Phichit giggled and Yuuri waved a hand as if to stop him from doing anything rash. “No! Phichit! Put away your phone!”

“But Yuuri.” Victor whined, “You never drink, loosen up a bit before you compete.”

“Victor!”

But Victor was already pouring out glasses of the rice wine that Mr. Chan had supplied, determined to make at least one of them drunk. He slammed a glass in front of Celestino while he kept one for himself.

“Drink. One of us is going to be walking out here drunk tonight.”

“Victor!” Yuuri wailed next to him, but the Russian kept his eyes on the Italian coach.

Celestino’s eyes had lit up with fire, and the man kept his gaze steady as he downed Victor’s challenge in one gulp.

“Celestino!” Yuuri yelled this time, “Don’t encourage Victor!”

Victor downed his in the same manner. He immediately poured out two other glasses, handing it out to the other.

Distantly, he heard that Yuuri and Phichit were yelling with the phone camera shutters clicking incessantly. But the two older man only had eyes on each other.

“I’ll show you who's the better coach.” Victor promised. Celestino didn’t let down as he returned his own barb by drinking two glasses at the same time.

Within the next hour, the two responsible coaches had drank the whole bottle and some more.

“Victor.” Yuuri sighed, when they finally had to pack up and go. “What am I going to do with you.”

“Well, you can kiss me.” He replied cheekily, tilting his head slightly.

Yuuri shook his head, “No Victor. Now wait here and don’t mess around when Mr. Chan comes by, I left the bill on the table. I’m just going to drop Phichit and Celestino off on a taxi. And remember, no stripping.” He cautioned before turning to leave.

Victor pouted and slumped back down on the sofa. Mr. Chan came by a minute later and shook his head at his appearance.

“Victor. You didn't have to go that far.”

“You saw past it huh?” He grinned weakly, flopping over. The ceiling suddenly seemed all too bright and Victor brought an arm up with a frown, “But this wine of yours is really strong. I was almost afraid it’d knock me out too.”

The Chinese man sighed, “I’ve known you for a long time Victor, and I’ve never known a single Russian who couldn’t hold his liquor.” He started to pick up the empty dishes on the table, “I saw the way you draped yourself all over the boy.”

“ _ Yuuri _ hung to me the exact same way you know.” Victor commented, peeking out from his fingers, “He clung to me like this.” He demonstrated, hands wrapped tightly around his waist.

“It was almost as if he didn’t want to let me go.”

Victor fell silent. Mr. Chan continued to stack up the plates and bowls, loading them into the little cart he had parked besides the table. The soft chatter of the other diners lulled Victor into another of his memories of  _ Yuuri _ . The clinking of glasses reminding him terribly of the time  _ Yuuri  _ had danced the two of them ragged and they ended up swaying to the music as the party came to a close.

“Ah. Mr. Chan, thank you for taking care of Victor for me.”

Victor blinked, the light dimming and then returning with a force. The restaurant owner merely shook his head with a smile while Yuuri bowed deeply.

“Careful.” Yuuri’s hand was on his back, “Let’s go back to the hotel. I’ll go get you some aspirin.”

“Yuuri’s so nice.” Victor drawled, “Will you carry me back to the hotel?”

The other man huffed softly, “Do you think I can manage to hold you for that long?”

“ _ Yuuri _ is very strong.” Victor murmured dazedly, “He can hold me up by one arm.”   


“Victor, Victor.” He heard Yuuri sigh again. And Victor blinked slowly, Yuuri had already slung his arms across his neck, “Let’s go. The short program is tomorrow, you wouldn’t want to start your Grand Prix hungover do you?”

Victor kept his eyes closed, and it wasn’t long before a gust of wind hit him. The alcohol in his veins suddenly seemed to burn ice cold. He shivered slightly, it wasn’t exactly cold compared to Russia, but the alcohol in his body didn’t want to cooperate. Something warm wrapped around his neck and Victor peeked open his eyes to find Yuuri's face surprisingly close.

“10 more minutes. We’ll be back in 10 minutes.” Yuuri’s voice seemed to echo around him, like he was submerged underwater.

“10 more minutes.” Victor echoed, tightening his hand around the scarf, 10 more minutes before he would be left alone again.

* * *

 

It was great seeing Chris again, even if they weren't competing against each other. He was really glad that the other man wasn’t angry at him for leaving so unexpectedly that he was willing to overlook that Chris had just groped Yuuri.

“Yuuri’s mine.” He told the Swiss casually as he leaned back to wait for Yuuri to come back after Phichit’s SP.

“I noticed.” Chris chuckled, “Never seen you so enamoured before, but I have to admit, anyone good with a pole is good in my books.”

Victor snorted, “He’s not just someone good with a pole Chris. Just you wait until you see his Short Program.”

“Ah, the program that you choreographed for him. What were you thinking of when you did it?”

Victor shushed Chris hurriedly when the door creaked open and Yuuri’s head poked in. Yuuri looked on at the scene slightly sheepish.

“Sorry to disturb you guys.”

“Not at all, Yuuri.” Victor shook his head, “How was your friend’s short program.”

“Phichit was brilliant. He skated to the theme of ‘The King and the skater’.”

Chris chuckled. “Well, I hope you’ll cheer for me all the same Yuuri. It’ll be great to face you at the finals again.”

Yuuri reddened like he always would whenever anyone said anything flattering. He mumbled a affirmative and hurried over to do his own warm ups.

Georgi was performing, and dimly, Victor would hear that horrible music coming through the chatter of the staff and he could only imagine the poor ex-girlfriend’s face when she realized that the short program was aimed at her.

During this time, Yuuri had rolled out his mat and did a few stretches and push ups. Then he had moved on to running up and down the length of the hallway. His face a mask of concentration that Victor had never seen before.

His conviction seemed to have even surprised Chris as he sidled up next to Victor to ask about it.

“This is the first time I’ve seen Yuuri act this way.” Victor murmured, still looking at Yuuri’s back.

* * *

 

“Yuuri, the time for seducing me by imagining pork cutlets is gone. You can fight with your own charm now. It’s clear in your mind isn’t it?”

“Watch me. Don’t you dare take your eyes off me.”

And Yuuri was gone. Leaving Victor stunned at his sudden and unexpected action.

“Representing Japan, Yuuri Katsuki.” The speakers announced. His hair was still slightly tousled from Yuuri’s sudden actions, and on the ice rink, a few strands of  _ Yuuri’s _ hair had escaped from their place and hung down his forehead.

Eros started and already Victor was shocked beyond measure.  _ Yuuri’s _ tongue had darted out seductively and retreated back again, almost too quickly. If the audience wasn’t in the same state of shock as he was, Victor would’ve thought he was still dreaming.

_ Yuuri _ was different today. Victor could no longer see the unsurety that used to cloud his eyes. Today,  _ Yuuri  _ looked positively stunning on the ice. His half skirt flared dramatically as his twisted and glided over the ice expertly.

Each flick of his arm, every eye contact, down to each drop of sweat looked intentional, it did not help that it was accompanied with an equally seducing smile. Secretive, as if  _ Yuuri _ knew the answer to that moment where thousands were mesmerized by his skating. 

Even the quad salchow that he used to have problem with landed perfectly on the ice and Victor couldn’t suppress that gasp of surprise.

Each fling of his head and looks casted at the crowd only served to drive them more excited. 

Each spin and step only showed his confidence on the ice, as the most beautiful man in the world that had stolen his breath away. 

The final flourish only highlighted how tempting  _ Yuuri _ was. Short of breath and arms wrapped tightly around his body. 

“ _ Yuuri! _ ” Victor held out his hand. Waving furiously as  _ Yuuri _ skated past him.

“Kiss and Cry’s over there.”

Oh.

Victor hurried over to the barrier and managed to make it on time to hand Yuuri his blade guards just before he stepped out of the rink.

“That was great Yuuri!” He exclaimed. Yuuri’s already red face darkened, and he hurried past him and ascended the Kiss Cry podium. However Victor didn’t let that bother him and followed after him, a sunny smile in place.

The Kiss Cry was already small, and Victor found himself having to squeeze in tightly with Yuuri. The other skater seemed to be in a state of shock as he allowed Victor to pull him in for the hug that the cameras and reporters were clicking away. 

Victor waved happily at their audience and gave them his best wishes while he waited for Yuuri to chug down his water. His rice ball balanced precariously on his lap as he fiddled with his bottle.

“Yuuri, it felt great didn’t it?”

“Ah, I was just thinking that maybe everyone would feel great watching me.” The expression on Yuuri’s face didn’t change. He had lost his seductive edge the second his performance had ended. And Victor marvelled at how instant the change had been, almost as if there was a switch inside of Yuuri that allowed him to change personalities at an instant.

At that moment. The scores came out. The three digit number flashing across the screen and igniting the red background.

Technical Elements 58.91

Presentation 47.93

SP SCORE 106.84 PB

RANK 1

The 1 stood out proudly beneath the over hundred score and the personal best. Even the reporters excited yell could not begin to convey how Victor felt at the moment. Yuuri leant forward squinting and Victor had to remind himself that Yuuri couldn’t see clearly without his glasses.

“Yuuri! Of course everyone would feel great after seeing your performance. Hear their shouts and cheers for you? You don’t need to see to know that you did wonderfully. You’re my best student!”

Yuuri eyes slowly turned to stared at him and Victor suddenly realised that his entire body was draped over the other. He was probably weighing the other down. But Yuuri’s lips lifted and within minutes he was smiling already.

The two of them had to be bundled off the Kiss Cry when Georgi came up. They had descended into fits of laughter whenever someone had passed by and congratulated them. Yakov had shot a dirty look at him in return but Victor had only replied with a bright smile.

They had retreated down to the waiting rooms to watch the other skaters. Victor was still draped on Yuuri’s shoulders since none of them had objected. In fact, no one who had seen them had made a mention of it. Leading to Victor believing that, in fact, no one cared what he and Yuuri were doing.

Victor had been looking forward to Chris’ performance. After all, the two of them were friends, and Victor did want to try and see his friend’s performance on a non competitive base.

Although he did have to say that Chris’ theme was a very bold move. His whole towelling act had the whole stadium enraptured and even Victor had to conceeded that today’s eros winner was in fact Chris. Yuuri’s eros had been too tame.

But with Chris’ score announced, it placed Yuuri on top. With the only score in the hundreds, Yuuri was leading by a huge margin and Victor fully expected his free to go as smoothly as it had been with the short program.

Well, he should have known that surprises followed Yuuri Katsuki, and Victor hadn’t been disappointed since he met  _ Yuuri _ . No, not one bit.

* * *

 

The world outside the window was dark, the late night chatters that had filled the city of Beijing had dwindled, until most of it’s citizens had left for home. However, the bright neon lights that lit up the streets for miles and miles still twinkled in the darkness. 

A pale white hand stretched tiredly and reached for the gold rimmed phone. Victor swiped open the lock and tapped in a series of numbers with fluidity that spoke of the familiarity with that particular phone number.

Somewhere else in the hotel, a phone rang and clicked. And a cool mechanical voice repeated the message it was programmed to say.

“Hey Yakov, I know that you told me not to call you until I’ve decided to come back to Russia.”

A shuffle.

“Sorry to call you at this time though.” He smiled, slowly extracting his arm from where Yuuri had trapped it, the other man rolled over again,“Yuuri was too nervous to sleep properly.”

“You know I can’t.” Pause. “Go back to Russia I mean. The banquet night was everything to me. And if  _ Yuuri  _ wants to steal my heart like that and never give it back, I’m alright with that. I’ll stay by him.”

Yuuri snored softly next to him and Victor petted his hair quietly. The room was deathly quiet and Victor was almost afraid that Yuuri was up again. Then the rustling of bed sheets sounded and this time Yuuri turned over to face the windows.

He breathed out and started, “Yuuri is beautiful, Yakov. You’ve seen his Eros performance, you know how lucky he is to have me as his coach. He lacks in the technical department, but excels in the performance. I can help him and-”

He choked, he doesn’t want to continue. Victor admits, he had thought about what would happen after Grand Prix. He had promised to make Yuuri win the gold medal, but what about after that? Would Yuuri continue to need him?

“I need him by my side. All these years, I’ve been so focused on my skating, I’ve neglected my two ‘Ls’ for so long. With Yuuri, it feels like I’m living again.”

The pause was so long that Victor thought his battery would die out before he could either come out with anything else or the automated voice message came on again. 

“Good night Vitya.” Came onto the phone and the line clicked shut once more.

* * *

 

Yuuri looked terrible after Victor had forced him to take that unplanned nap that morning. Granted, it was just 2 hours until their group had to skate, But it should have been enough to at least lift Yuuri’s spirits.

However…

Victor gripped Yuuri’s shoulder tightly, “You didn’t rest at all did you?”

Yuuri’s pale face paled even further as he shook his head vehemently in denial. Victor’s smile became even more and more dark as he brought out the big weapons.

“I forbid you from doing any jumps during your warm up.”

His warning and advice had no effect on Yuuri except to make him even more depressed. He had indeed attempt a jump and had flubbed it spectacularly. Oh well, Yuuri did always perform better when he was on the ice, maybe all it’d take would be a few minutes off for him to calm down and get back into the game.

It seemed like this wasn’t the case this time. As Yuuri only became more and more agitated as time passed by, even the other skaters mistakes did not seem to calm him. His erratic behaviour had scared away most of the staff and the remaining ones were staring at the both of them warily.

Yuuri had started switching off all the monitors to the competition a few minutes before and now the backroom was completely devoid of any distractions. However, the audiences cheering still escaped from the thin curtain that was pulled over to ensure the rooms privacy and Yuuri was now reacting to that instead.

“Yuuri let’s go somewhere else to warm up.” Making up his mind, Victor reached out and dragged Yuuri away. The other skater not even putting up a fight.

The underground carpark was the only place that Victor remembered to be more quiet and suitable for any warms ups. Yuuri however did not think so as he looked around wildly like a trapped animal, asking for the rankings whenever the slightest sound reached their ears.

“Yuuri. Just- Just take a deep breath first okay?”

That seemed to have calmed Yuuri down, as he finally began to start his stretching exercises.

Arms, up down. Over and around. Up. Down. Over. Around. The movements were repetitive. But Victor knew it was the only way that Yuuri knew to try and calm down.

The motion repeated over and over. Almost as if Yuuri himself was in a trance. There wasn’t any thought behind each of his movement. Yuuri was only going through motions, his thoughts had already started to wander.

Up, Down. Up. Down.

There was the cheering again. Victor lifted his head to stare at the ceiling. He wondered who it was? They had came down during Chris’ performance. Logically, it would be Yuuri’s friend Phichit who was on the ice just now.

Did he perform well? The cheers were louder than yesterday. Or was it because he was just more aware of the tiniest sound and the empty carpark amplified the tiniest sound to deafening shouts.

Perhaps it hadn’t been in Yuuri’s best interest to bring him here. 

Victor turned back to Yuuri, about to tell him that they were moving. Instead Yuuri stood there, earplugs out. Staring at the ceiling.

“Don’t listen!”

Victor moved before he could properly analyse what was happening to Yuuri. His hands closed over Yuuri’s ear, pressing so hard that the other was sure to get a bruising later on.

Yuuri looked shocked. Victor had never raised his voice at him and this time he had been scared so much that his earbuds fell onto the ground. The grey rubber rolled lazily around them before finally settling near Yuuri’s shoes.

The Japanese skater looked betrayed. Victor realized as he finally took on the other’s face. Yuuri’s face was drawn out and pale and his brown eyes trembled under the shock of the loud cheering that his friend had received. 

This was way out of the league that Victor was used to handling. He knew that younger skaters sometimes buckled under the pressure of the other skater’s standings. But why was Yuuri so scared of it? He was on the top of the standings already.

Yuuri had problems with his confidence but Victor thought being first during his short program would sure bring out his confident side. Especially after his Eros performance.

“Victor.” Yuuri pulled at his hands, “It’s almost time. We need to go back.”

Victor let his hands fall down uselessly at Yuuri’s prompting. The other was refusing to look at him and his eyes were darting left and right like a terrified animal.

Skater’s hearts are as fragile as glass, Victor had once been told. They poured their heart and soul into the program hoping to get recognition. And when they fall flat on their expectations, no matter who it was, always ended up breaking.

_ If their hearts are so fragile. _

What would happen if he shattered Yuuri’s completely?

Yuuri’s footsteps were fading away. He didn’t even wanted to wait for Victor to go up with him.

“Yuuri.” He stopped.

“If you mess up the free skate and miss the podium.” He could see the panic in Yuuri’s eyes now, but he had to say it, “I’ll take responsibility and resign as your coach.”

The panic in Yuuri’s eyes morphed to shock and then disbelief and then into something else entirely. It was almost surreal seeing Yuuri stand there staring at him as if he was the one who was at the wrong. 

The minutes ticked by, and still Yuuri’s facial expression didn’t change. Still the widened eyes and slack jaws as he stared dead into Victor’s own eyes.

Tears began to well up in the corners of the skater’s eyes and before long they dripped steadily across his cheeks and onto the asphalt. 

“Why? Why would you say something like that, like you’re trying to test me?”

Shit, it shattered!

Yuuri was crying in all earnest now. His sobs wracking his thin frame and Victor quickly moved to his side.

“Yuutri, I’m sorry. I wasn’t serious-”

Yuuri cut him off, crying even harder, “I’m used to being blamed for my own failures. But this time my mistakes would reflect on you, and all the time, I’ve been wondering if you’d secretly wanted to quit.”

“Of course I don’t.” Victor rushed out, while trying to calm his heart. Did Yuuri see past him? Did Yuuri really think that Victor would leave after this season? Sure, he had entertained the notion during the first few weeks. But now-

“I know!”

Victor turned his head, unwilling to let Yuuri see his own weakness at this time, “I’m not good with people crying.” He confessed, “I don’t know what to do now.”

“Should I just kiss you or something?” He tried. If he wanted to get his own emotions through to Yuuri…

“No!  Just have more faith in me that I’ll win. You don’t have to say anything, just-”

Ah ah…

* * *

 

_ Stay by my side and don’t leave me. _

It had been a long time since he had heard that particular sentence.

Yuuri seemed almost unaffected after his outburst in the carpark other than his puffy eyes. And as his coach, Victor was trying diligently to ignore it.

He held out his hand for the last tissue Yuuri held out. Yuuri’s hand stayed there for a second before it moved closer into the rink and let the tissue fall.

“Oh.” Victor hurried to bend down and catch it. Yuuri’s finger was on his head again, lingering at that spot before he skated away.

Huh?

What exactly had Yuuri been trying to do?

Why was Yuuri smiling anyway? Victor had just made him cry, shouldn’t he at least be angry at him? It wasn’t in a coach’s job description to make their own skaters cry.

Yuuri went through his motion with more grace that Victor had ever seen. The expression on his face was soft, and if they didn’t look closely. No one could tell that Yuuri had been crying. 

The salchow slid across the ice perfectly, and Yuuri stepped into a spin that continued in a perfect speed and slowly eased in preparation for his second jump.

Victor’s favourite part of Yuri on Ice started, the outstretched arms with Yuuri gliding across the rink like a swan and dipping into a Ina Bauer. He had never seen Yuuri look more at ease than right now.

Yuuri’s triple axel touched down, but Victor wasn’t disappointed, Yuuri had surpassed his expectations already by going this far without enough sleep. His next triple flip landed, and Victor caught a hint of a flicker in Yuuri’s eyes.

Yuuri slipped on the next combination jump, the final triple salchow over rotated. But that did not stop him from attempting his next two combination jump which landed perfectly despite his increasing fatigue.

Victor’s mouth dropped right open. He knew he looked like an idiot of a coach for displaying such surprise for his student’s skating. But he couldn’t help it. No one knew what Yuuri had gone through right before his skating, and no one would have known how Victor had felt or was feeling.

Yuuri’s face suddenly cleared as if finding his determination. His hands raised tall and swept across the audience as if he daring them to find fault in him. And when no one dared to challenge him, his eyes showed only confidence and he held out his arms to invite them into his step sequence. Each spin and step leading and guiding them throughout his life.

The audience were cheering like crazy now, whatever doubts they had when Yuuri flubbed his first jump was gone and replaced by the same excitement that filled Victor. Yuuri’s blades carved through the ice and left it’s own path on Victor’s heart.

The last quad on the list was the toe loop. That would be left foot toe pick on the ice. But no! Yuuri’s right foot was readying for the jump. What was he doing?

The announcers went nuts and Victor’s own mind blanked out. He didn’t have to hear what they were saying to know what Yuuri did. He had known it the second Yuuri’s toe pick snagged the ice and his arms hugged his body tightly.

His quad flip, because that was what Victor Nikiforov was known for. Yuuri had dedicated it to him. Yuuri started his flip just like the way Victor did. There were a lot of thing Victor noticed about Yuuri. And there were a lot of things that he just never found out.

Arms stretching out, reaching towards the crowd in the midst of a frenzy, Yuuri finished his program in a flourish. 

_ That was just one more thing that brought him closer to Yuuri Katsuki. _

Victor had never hated the Beijing stadium as much as he did now. The entrance was so far away from the Kiss Cry. It felt like it would take him forever to get there.

“I did great didn’t I Victor?” Yuuri smiled brightly, arms opened wide. This time, Victor didn’t hesitate.

Their surroundings were surprisingly quiet, like the entire universe was holding it’s breath for them. The only sound that he could hear for miles were their heartbeats. So loud that Victor thought it was going to burst through his ribcage.

Yuuri’s lips were warm against his own, his mouth was still open in surprise. Eyes closed tightly, Victor savoured his own surprise. Yuuri’s mouth was sweet and salty at the same time. The sweat he had poured into his skating and the faint aftertaste of his lip balm. Yuuri’s body was warm against his own and he didn’t forget to keep his hand on Yuuri’s head.

Yuuri’s back hit the ice and the sound returned in full force. The audience were going crazy for them, Victor didn’t know if they were cheering for Yuuri’s skating or their kiss. The only thing that mattered was Yuuri who laid under him.

“I couldn’t think of anything that could surprise you more than you’ve surprised me.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened and then he smiled. His smile so sweet that Victor wanted to melt into a puddle and never get back up.

Yuuri’s hand brushed his hair softly, “Really?”

The only thing that was left was the warm brown of Yuuri’s eyes and the faint realization that Yuuri was crying again. So Victor kissed him again, over and over.

* * *

 

It was only 15 minutes into the banquet and already, the hotel room was filled. Most people wanted to get a glimpse of Japan’s new rising star and master seducer Yuuri Katsuki. Even more people wanted to get to know the man who had stolen Victor’s heart.

Sadly, Victor wasn’t fond of sharing and he inserted himself in every single conversation that Yuuri had found himself into that night.

“Victor.” Yuuri started to whine when he had to turn down another invitation to dance, “I can handle them.”

Victor’s smile tightened and he sent a glare at one of the younger skaters that was coming their way. They scurried off at the sight of him. “My heart can't handle it.”

He got a push for his effort. Yuuri only shook his head and sent him away to grab a glass of champagne.

“Got dumped huh?”

Victor groaned, “Chris, don’t joke about it. I’m still not sure if he wants a relationship. I mean he didn’t push me away after the kiss, but he’s doing it now. I don’t think I can stand it if Yuuri ignored me like right after the other banquet.”

Chris only shook his head, green eyes sparkling with an unknown humour, “Victor. Victor.” He chided, “You don’t know Yuuri.”

The Russian only scowled in return, “You are a horrible friend.” He turned to stalk away, only to pause and snatch a glass of champagne on the way out. 

That was how Yuuri found him an hour later, utterly inebriated. Just like how Yuuri was on that banquet night. Victor’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t usually that bad, it was just that after the talk with Chris he had been really angry and had in turn downed a lot more than what he would have and a lot faster than he usually did.

He still had a slight consciousness of his surroundings, only that his body wasn’t listening to him at all. He mind wandered as he staggered drunkenly to Yuuri, the man had taken his absence to strike up a conversation with his old coach and friend.

“Yuuri.” Victor whined, slumping over the his student. Yuuri gave a small yelp at the weight that had dropped suddenly on him. “Chris was so mean.”

Celestino seemed to have notice the need for privacy as he excused himself and dragged Phichit off with him.

“Victor.” Yuuri sighed and Victor snuggled closer to him, “Not again. What did you promise about being a responsible coach.”

“Don’t wanna.” He murmured, burying his head in Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri was mean too, why would he take Chris’ side?

The other man heaved another sigh, “Come on, I’ll take you up to the hotel room.”

Victor shrugged and allowed Yuuri to pull him along. Sometimes he felt like he was a child with how Yuuri treated him. He never seemed to yell at him and whenever he acted like this, Yuuri would always be by his side to take care of him.

They staggered out of the banquet hall and down one of the lifts. The person who had also been waiting let them have it and Yuuri thanked him profusely. Once they were safely in the lift Yuuri began to speak.

“I didn’t know what to do you know.” 

Victor stared at him pointedly.

“The kiss.” Yuuri amended, “I wasn’t sure how to respond to that.”

“As long as Yuuri is alright with it.” Victor slurred, Yuuri was looking at him now. He wasn’t blushing? “Because I didn’t know what to do too. Sometimes Yuuri is like two different person. He acts confident on the ice and then pretend to be not when he’s off.”

Yuuri’s laugh came out nervously, “Yeah, I know. I was never really good at showing my confidence.”

Victor frowned and poked at Yuuri’s cheeks, “Doesn’t matter. I only wanted to tell you that I like both Yuuris. I thought I would only like someone with enough confidence to rival my own. Guess I was wrong.”

“Like, huh?”

“Like.” Victor confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like crying every time that I write the Yuri on Ice performance. Because it was this piece that brought me into the world of Yuri on Ice. And through Yuuri's free skating I can really see how much he has improved throughout his season. The music did build up the momentum and allow the jumps to slot in perfectly. It also did not help that the kiss happened right after the free.
> 
> I would also like to tell you guys that the hotpot place that Yuuri and Victor visited is in fact real and their table is really 16 if you guys haven't found out already. I really recommend you to try it out if you ever visit Beijing, and of course, it will be easily recognizable as the GP poster I mentioned does exist, and is in fact the poster for Yuri on Ice. Table 16 is unable to be booked in advance so the best of luck to anyone who will go there.


End file.
